Welcome to The Noctrium. Feel free to wander the dusty corridors of my dark art gallery or surrender your imagination to the pages of my ghost stories. Above all, enjoy your stay—and if you feel an icy touch on your back, fear not; my spectral tenants are friendly…for the most part.
Fear is one of the hardest reactions to provoke in writing. Just flip through the pages of any ghost story anthology; how many of them are genuinely scary? It takes more than tortured groans, rattling chains, and a splattering of gore; anyone can do that. But the art of raising goose bumps? That is an […]
This happened back when my son, Zach, was less than a year old. As you can imagine, we had a lot of baby toys scattered around the house. Many of them were electronic, including a plastic book that played songs as you turned the pages. I awoke one morning to the robotic refrain of “Are […]
I have a lot of fond memories from my teenage years. This is not one of them. I’d just finished my sophomore year of high school. To celebrate the start of our summer freedom, my younger brother and I spent the evening around a bonfire in the backyard, burning old homework assignments and roasting marshmallows […]
The storm of the morning of December twenty-sixth was predicted by no meteorologist. We had no time to prepare. In the still-dark hours, I woke to the ghostly light of moon and stars reflected off snow. The radio, left on overnight to serenade us with lingering Christmas carols, now played only static. It was frigid […]
Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Chilling Tales for Dark Nights—a horror podcast network that has produced audio dramas of several of my ghost stories—and asked to write an exclusive tale for their upcoming printed anthology. This anthology is meant to be a spiritual successor to the old Scary Stories to Tell in the […]
The latest episode of the Scary Stories Told in the Dark podcast features Swamp Children from the Noctrium Library, along with three other frightening tales by other authors. You need a patron’s account to hear the full episode, including Swamp Children, but you can listen to the first half of the episode for free. Scary […]
Roy’s hand dripped over the chalice. Crimson drops made black in the dimness, echoing as they mingled with the blood of everyone else who had preceded us. “What the—” I began, grabbing for Roy’s arm to pull him back, but he shoved me away. “I don’t even feel it anymore. Besides, it’s a small price […]
It’s the last thing I see before falling asleep. That wisp of shadow cast upon my bedroom wall. I always wonder what’s doing the casting. It can’t be the ceiling fan, it’s the wrong shape for that—but next thing I know my alarm’s ringing and the night is over. I instinctively glance at my phone […]
Welcome to Hallowdale John and Anna thought Hallowdale would be their salvation. Lost and low on fuel, they came to the lonely valley looking for nothing more than directions and a gas station. What they found was the dark history of a place that doesn’t easily give up its prey. This book contains not only […]